Written answers

Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Department of Justice and Equality

Guardian Status

Photo of Jack WallJack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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376. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide clarification regarding correspondence in relation to the Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14622/15]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 is a child-centred Act aimed at children living in diverse family types. This legislation enables a non-marital father for the first time automatically to become a guardian of his child if he has lived with the child's mother for 12 months, including at least 3 months with mother and child following the child's birth. Recognising the need to make it easier for a non-marital father to acquire guardianship, I have also provided a new facility whereby non-marital parents can sign a statutory declaration, by means of which the father can acquire guardianship with the mother's consent, at the Register Office when registering their child's birth or shortly thereafter.

The provision in section 6C of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, as inserted by section 49 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015, which provides for the court to appoint a person other than a parent as a child's guardian, stipulates that the responsibilities of such guardians will generally be limited to decisions on day-to-day matters. A person other than a parent will be given full guardianship responsibilities by the court only where the court considers that this is in the child's best interests.

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